


To bring Joy

by Pikuna



Series: The Heart Follows [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Interspecies Relationship(s), Pre-Relationship, Teasing Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-23 11:19:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10718334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pikuna/pseuds/Pikuna
Summary: Ayden Ryder is working non-stop on a toy for the angaran children. Jaal appreciates her effort and kindness, but is equally worried about her well-being.





	To bring Joy

**Author's Note:**

> FINALLY!  
> I have been working more than a month on this. xD  
> This is not the first Jaal x Ryder fic I started writing, just the first to finish. And it took me so much longer than I wanted, mostly because of writers block and getting more ideas so that it has become three times from it's original length. But that is normal. |D  
> Anyhow, first try on a Rydaal fic. I think I stayed pretty much in-character with Jaal. For Ryder I use my costum one, [Ayden](http://pikuna.tumblr.com/tagged/Ayden%20Ryder), and I'm still figuring out how to write her.  
> Really hope you guys enjoy this. x3

>>Mr. Ama Darav. The Pathfinder asks for you presence in the Tech Lab,<< buzzed the voice from SAM through Liam's room. 

The Human and Angara had been in the middle of one of their 'diplomatic exchanges' - meaning Liam explained several idioms to Jaal and in return Jaal taught him how to avoid offending an Angara.

They had raised their heads when the AI had spoken and now Liam was looking at his friend with a smirk.

"Oh oh, did Ryder found something in your room that shouldn't be there?"

Jaal huffed a laugh at this playful accusation. "There is hardly anything to find what I haven't informed her about. She probably just wants to ask some questions."

While he stood up from his seat, Liam leant back on his couch. 

"She does pepper you with her questions quite a bit lately, huh?" He already saw the puzzled look on Jaal's face, so he raised his hand and quickly explained. "Idiom. Simply means she asks _a lot_."

"Well, the Pathfinder is a really curious person. I don't mind to help her out with it," the Angara said with a shrug. 

"Sure you don't," Liam chuckled as if he enjoyed a private joke and grinned at him. He propped his hands on his legs and with a sweep he stood up to stand besides Jaal. "You always drop everything right away when Ryder calls for you. And she takes you to every little mission. You trying to replace me as the pretty face of the squad?" His tone was acted indignation, which amused Jaal a lot.

"I would call it improving rather than replacing," he answered in a nonchalant tone, but his face was very smug.

Liam laughed outright at that and gave Jaal's shoulder a playful punch. "Oh man, you got me there."

Jaal joined the human into the laughter, before he cleared his throat. "But no, I don't seek to replace anyone. I was simply taught to react to requests from superiors as quickly as possible."

"Ah, and...that is all? Just trying to be a good soldier?" Liam still had this grin on his face that Jaal couldn't really understand. 

"What else should there be?"

"Hmmm," was the only verbal answer that Liam gave him at first and made a weird tilting movement with his hand. But then the human took pity on his friend's puzzled expression. "You sure you don't actually want to please Ryder, because you _like_ her?" 

But this explanation didn't really help Jaal. "You make it sound like those two things would exclude each other."

Yes, he did like Ryder, was even intrigued by her. While he saw the crew from the Milky Way more and more as his friends, she undoubtedly was his favorite person. He enjoyed her eagerness and respect the amount of work she put on building homes for her people. And while she may have a lot of questions, Ryder was always more than willing to answer his own and kind to help him with anything he had difficulties with.  

Jaal really didn't understand what he was trying to tell him and after his statement Liam had stopped in his merriment and remained silent for a moment. 

"I really need to keep this emotional openness of your people in mind. Guess it's okay for you to openly like a superior, huh?"

A nod was Jaal's only answer. Was that not normal for the Milky Way species? After all it was obvious that the whole crew liked Ryder, some more than others. He was about to ask Liam about this, when SAM's voice sounded again.

>>Mr. Ama Darav, the Pathfinder asks about your whereabouts _. <<_ 

"Tell her I am on my way," Jaal answered.

"Oh, she is getting impatient," Liam chuckled and gave his friend a pat on the back. "Well, you better be going."

The Angara nodded and with a slightly frustrated sigh he left the room. Liam was always the next person he would ask about things, but other than Ryder he wasn't so straight forward and seemed to find amusement in letting him 'hang in the air'. Sometimes human idioms were quite fitting. 

 

* * *

 

Ryder had been occupying the Tech Lab for a few days now. Jaal hadn't mind this at all, the room was big enough for both of them to work. It had given them the opportunity to talk more and exchange basic knowledge about their representative species, although he still avoided questions that were too personal.

He was sure that Ryder herself was no threat to his people or family, but all these years they had suffered under the Kett had made him more wary than he might like it. Maybe when they saved the Moshae...when Ryder has proven that she wanted to help...maybe then he would tell her more.

To be honest, he himself became more and more interested in her person and past. Most of the other crew members had given him some insights in their stories, but from Ryder he only knew the things he saw and nothing that was behind her. He was very curious from where her strength and optimism came. Maybe when he will share his story with her, she will do the same. 

Jaal was interrupted in his musing, when he heard the voice of Lexi T'Perro before even came to the Research room. When he entered said room he spotted the doctor in front of the open Tech Lab, arms crossed and a scolding frown on her face.

"You've been in there the whole day! Did you have even eaten anything besides a few protein bars?"

"Nope, I haven't. And I'm still standing bright and tall," Jaal heard Ryder's voice coming out of the Tech Lab and had to grin at her blunt admission. 

Lexi only bristled in frustration. "Seriously Ryder, those things are for when you are out in the field. You should take the chance of a warm, healthy meal whenever you can."

"You really would call the stuff Drack cooks healthy?" Ryder asked with a laugh.

"It actually is, even when it might doesn't taste that way," the Asari answered in a dry tone. The only reply to that was an _uh huh_ from Ryder. before there was a sound of metal on metal, which indicated she was working again. 

Apparently Lexi gave up on convincing her, so she walked away from the door. When her path crossed with Jaal's she nodded into the direction of the lab.

"When she is finished showing you whatever she is doing there, please do me the favor and drag her to the galley," she almost pleaded with him.

Jaal chuckled at that and nodded. "I will see what I can do."

"Thank you." Those words were more breathed out in relief than spoken. When Lexi left the room he was sure she was muttering to herself. 

Curiously Jaal peeked into the Tech Lab. Ryder was still sitting in front of the same bench with her back to the door, screwing something together and having the sleeves of her hoodie rolled up.

While they had worked the last days together in the room, it had happened this morning Ryder had ushered him out, saying she didn't want him to see what she was working on before it was finished. This had piqued his interest in what she was doing. At first he had thought it could be a new weapon, but it had been to small and chunky to be one. In the end he had followed her order and had spent most of the day with Liam. 

Now he was sure that she had asked for his presence, because she finally wanted to show what exactly she was working on. Getting a bit excited he entered the lab and announced his presence.

"Ryder. You have called for me?"

The way she flinched and yelped in surprise told him that she was so deep into her work that she hadn't heard him enter. In her shock Ryder had almost dropped her screwdriver, but was able to catch it - in a more or less elegant way - without falling from the crate she was sitting on.

She could get so lost into her tinkering, forgetting the time and simply fall asleep on the bench. Jaal had started to always have an extra blanket for her between his belongings to cover her. The first time this had happened, he had carried her to her room to lay her on the bed. But she had insisted that he shouldn't bother with taking her to her quarters, she liked to fall asleep on the spot she was and also wake up in the same place. Providing a blanket was the least he wanted to do for her and Ryder hadn't complained about it.

The slightly panicked face Ryder had from her clumsiness melted into a bright smile when she spotted him. 

"There you are, big guy. I was waiting for you," she exclaimed happily and Jaal couldn't help but smile too. Her good mood was always so contagious. 

"Apologies. Liam had me occupied a bit longer than I expected." he said and walked towards her.

"That bahlul," she laughed and made some room for him on the crate. "He had you the whole day, now it's my turn."

With a rumbling laugh Jaal sat down besides her. His translator didn't gave away what _bahlul_ mean, but he was sure it was a form of insult. 

"Well, to be honest...," he said with a deeper voice than usual and leant more towards her. "You actually take up most of my time Ryder." The immediate reaction was her blushing and giggling, looking down at the bench with a bashful grin. He had no idea why, but he found this utterly adorable. 

Ryder then cleared her throat and pointed her screwdriver at him, while wearing a nonchalant expression on her face. "Not really true. It just happens a lot that we are in the same room at the same time. And it just happens that I ask you one question here and there, while we are both doing our own stuff. And you tend to answer them by happy accident."

"Hmm, if that's what you want to call it, I won't oppose it," he said with a chuckle and Ryder grinned at that again.

"Smart choice."

Jaal hummed at that and devoted his attention to the two items on the work bench. Up close he noticed that they looked like six inch versions of an Adhi and the flying creatures the Initiative had named Mantas, just that they were made out of metal and wires. 

"So, what is it you wanted to see me for?" he asked, although he was sure that the two figures might be the reasons. Carefully he picked up the Adhi figure and examined it. 

Ryder didn't told him to put it back, instead her grin grew only wider. "Well, I recently had an idea that I wanted to realize before we arrive at Voeld. You said it's a very cold planet and I can't work on these when my fingers are freezing. They are delicate to built and need a lot of fine tuning."

She was right, the whole construct looked rather fragile and surely only a pair of deft hands could work on this without breaking it. The amount of detail was amazing.

"Impressive work," Jaal praised her and put the Adhi figure back. "And you want my opinion on...these?"

"Yeah, kinda. Among other things." He looked at her, expecting some sort of elaboration, but instead she asked a question on her own.  "When I first came to Aya...I didn't saw any children. I guess you hid them, in case I was someone dangerous, right?"

The nature of the question surprised him, as did her chewing on her lower lip. He knew it was a sign of nervousness from her. A few seconds he pondered, but then answered.

"Yes, children are always brought first to safety. Why do you ask?" His last words had a suspicious edge to it, which he regretted a moment later. It was just that children are a high priority to be protected and his instinct to keep them safe kicked in. 

Nervously Ryder laughed and started to mumble to herself, thought he could hear her. "Maybe I should have asked this before I worked on these." She took a small breath and spoke louder again, having an almost celebratory tone to her. "I ask because...these things _are_ for the children."

Jaal blinked puzzled at her. "What do you mean by that?"

"They are toys!" Ryder exclaimed excited, before her face turned to uncertainty. "You know what toys are, or?"

Even when her question was justified, Jaal still made a face at her and nodded. Ryder just sighed in relief. "Very good." She then picked the figures up and hold them in front of her. 

"I chose an Adhi as design for one, because I read that Angara sometimes tame them as some sort of pet and the other one is a Manta, simply because...I thought it was cool to have a flying toy."

"It can really fly?" There was wonderment in Jaal's voice now. Most of angaran toys were handmade out of wood or rugs, since those weren't that high in the production priority. Certainly no toy he knew could fly. 

"More like hovering, but yes, it will be moving like a real life Manta," Ryder grinned widely, when she noticed his interest and handed him the Manta. "Still need to get a skin for the exoskeletons, so that they look more authentic and the kids won't hurt themselves on the metal. Maybe some sort of rubber, that holds everything together and should isolate the bioelectricity from springing around like crazy."

"The bioelectricity?" Jaal looked up from the Manta he had examined. Ryder's smug smile spoke volumes of how pleased she was with herself. 

"Yep, thought it would be a nice idea to give these toys a core that only works with the angaran bioelectricity, so that they could only be activated by Angara. Toys made by Milky Way species, used by Andromeda ones."

Jaal hummed approvingly and impressed at her explanation. That she would do something like this for the children of his people, with no prompt or whatsoever. He should be thankful to her for this, it was just...

"This..is a very nice gesture." He put the Manta back on the bench and looked at her intensive. "But..I don't get..why? Why putting so much time and effort into something like a toy. For a species that isn't even your own?"

"As a backup plan," she answered dryly and toyed around with the Adhi figure. "Just in case I can't manage to wrap Evfra and the other Angara around my finger, I will try it with the next generation."

Sometimes it was really hard to decipher if Ryder was actually serious or just making a joke. Even the other humans had their problems with it. But Ryder had started to give Jaal a lopsided smile whenever she did, so he knew when she was joking. As she did right now. He may snorted amused, but still looked at her, waiting for her real answer.

Eventually Ryder waver under his scrutiny. She put the Adhi besides the Manta and stared at them. With a deep sigh she propped her elbows on the bench and rubbed her neck with her hands, seemingly trying to find the right words.

"It's just...you said that the Kett are here in Heleus since 80 years....that you grew up in a war...and the current children generation is too. I can't even imagined how it is growing up under such circumstances."

Ryder went silent again, staring at nothing. Jaal noticed the flicker of emotions on her face: sorrow, sympathy and when it reached determination she looked back at him. 

"And I thought...doesn't matter what species, a toy would always bring happiness to a child. Just giving them something they can enjoy, forget what's happening in the galaxy for a moment. They surely can use a distraction during times like this."

Jaal didn't respond or showed any reaction at her declaration at first, only regarding her with new interest.  _There_ was this profoundness he had sensed the first day they had met.

When meeting her the first time, many dismissed Ryder as a reckless braggart with no respect for authority. He had so too, but had realized soon enough that this was just a small part of her personality. His heart had been eased with relief when he saw Ryder's devotion to help others, that she treated every life equally and with care. Seeing her wanting to give the children of his people some happiness, filled his heart with a warm feeling he couldn't quite place right now. But he liked it. 

The continuing silence that came from Jaal seemingly made Ryder nervous with every second, until she laughed uncertainly. 

"Aaand I'm making a bigger deal out of it as I should." she said with a grimace and looked sheepishly to the side. 

"No. No you don't," he assured her with a little laugh. "I'm just... You surprised me. You do that a lot."

"Yeah, my brother always says I'm full of surprises." she shrugged. Jaal had to chuckle.

"That is true." He then laid his hand on her shoulder and when she turned her head back to him, he looked at her with a warm smile. "Thank you Ryder. I'm very sure all Angara will be grateful for this gesture of friendship, especially the children. They indeed can use some joy in their young lives."

A bashful smile graced her own face, happy about his words. "Everyone can use some joy in their lives Jaal. Maybe after this I will tinker something together that will be fun for adult Angara." She laughed, but then abruptly stopped and her cheeks went red. "Damn, that could be misinterpret."

"In which way?" Jaal asked removing his hand from her. As long as this wasn't another idiom her words made pretty much sense. But she only waved it off.

"Never mind, nothing important." Hastily she took the Adhi in her hand and then gestured at his hands.

"I still need to test those things tho. Can you try and start this one with you bioelectricity? I need to see if I set the parameters right and the core functions correctly."

"Of course," Jaal said, pulled one glove off and took the offered toy in his hand. 

"A small shock should be more than enough to make it run," she explained, while her eyes were glued on the Adhi. 

He nodded and put his thumb on the back of the toy and sent out a controlled little charge of his bioelectricity, the core immediately absorbing the energy. At first the Adhi only twitched a bit, but then it started moving. A bit stiff and erratic it crawled over Jaal's hand, who lowered it to the bench so that the toy had more room to walk. It was fascinating to watch how it avoided to walk over the edges and moved it's head around as if it was scanning it's surrounding.

"Yes!" Ryder exclaimed with a delighted sound. Jaal looked up at her and for a second he worried that her face must hurt, so wide was her grin. He wanted to comment on it, but she already shoved the Manta into his hand.

"Okay, try the next one," she said and he couldn't help but smile when she started to slightly bounce her legs in excitement. 

"One could think those toys are for you and not for children. I think the word... _giddy..._ would describe you very well right now."

Chuckling Ryder shrugged one shoulder. "I tend to get that when I'm excited. After all, these are new concepts I'm working with and it's just great when it works."

Jaal hummed in acknowledgement. "New concepts, new technologies. Weren't those your reasons to leave your home?" It was one of the few things that he knew about Ryder's past. No bonds had held her in the Milky Way and she wanted to take the chance to work with technologies that no human ever had used before or even create completely new ones.

"Among other things, yes." For a second Jaal was sure he saw a flicker of sadness in Ryder's eyes, but the next it was already gone and she grinned brightly at him again.

"Now come on, I wanna see if it can fly," she asked him again.

Obliging her request Jaal proceed as he did before with the Adhi. The Manta didn't twitched, but buzzed to life and after a few seconds it started to hover over his hand. The fins didn't move as elegant and flowing as the ones of a real Manta, but it was still an amazing achievement to make a construct like this move with so much ease. The Manta hovered higher and began flying over the bench, causing the Adhi to look up to it. 

"Ohgosh, this is so great!" Ryder stood up from the crate and walked around the bench, while activating her Omnitool to scan her creations. "I really have to adjust their joints, but so far movements are exactly like I wanted them to be."

"Amazing," Jaal said, while he watched how the Adhi jumped and tried to bite the Manta's tail, but it simply flew an elegant curve and hovered a bit higher. "They behave like the creatures on Havarl would."

"You don't want to know how many hours I've spent watching footage of Adhi and Manta behavior just to program their VIs accordingly," she sighed dramatically and was typing something into her Omnitool. "Tho it's really just basic programming. I want to give their VIs a higher capacity so they can listen to more commands. Maybe even upgrade to an AI so they can act better as protectors for the kids and have emphatic talks with them. Who wouldn't want a toy that could talk with them? Maybe even-"

"I thought those were supposed to be toys? Now they sound more like mechanical pets," Jaal interrupted her with a smile. She was rambling and jumping from one thought to another,  _overshooting_ as Liam had once called it. Just as Ryder could be get lost in her work, she could get lost in her words and make plans for things that were still far away. It was another endearing thing for him to watch and also listen to.

She had stopped in her pacing and blinked confused at him, before she realized what she had done again. Slightly embarrassed she scratched her cheek. "Uhm, yes they are supposed to be toys. But I mean...the possibilities you have with these things, I could do so much more."

The excitement was bubbling up in Ryder again and as much as Jaal disliked to diminish it, he had to. He knew she just meant good, but it really was a bit too much for the current situation. "I admire your creativity and urge to give something special to our children. It's really kind, but I doubt that either Evfra nor the parents would want an alien AI near the children."

Again Ryder stopped in her motions and her face turned into a thoughtful frown, before she let out a sigh. "You're probably right." Her disappointment was clear, but she was able to switch back to optimism quickly. "But a VI that listens to simple commands and can play games is still okay?"

Jaal had to think about it for a moment and he was glad to give her a positive answer. "That should be acceptable."

"Nice!" she exclaimed happily and pumped her fist slightly into the air. "Then you have to tell me what kind of games angaran children play, so I can program that into the VIs. I'm sure you have something similar to tag or hide and seek."

"We have other names for children's games. But when yours are as literally as they sound, they aren't that different from each other."

Jaal couldn't help himself, but smile brightly. At the thought of all the games and his siblings had played together, of the joyous faces from the children that would receive these toys and at Ryder's brilliant and kind character. More than ever he prayed that she would be able to rescue the Moshae and earn the trust of his people, as she did earn his. The Angara certainly could use a friend like her.

They hadn't spoken for a few second now and only grinned at each other, when they suddenly heard a crackling sound. It came from the Adhi, which had stopped moving and the glow from it's energy core dimmed down slowly. 

"Oh oh, seems like the battery is empty." Ryder said and then looked up. Over her head was the Manta still flying, but a few seconds later it also lost it's energy. She was able to catch it, before it crashed to the ground.

"Okay, another thing I need to adjust. The energy use," she sighed and started to scan the Manta. "They shouldn't get drained that fast." 

Jaal noticed that she was about to immersed into her work again. He remembered what Lexi had asked him to do and now was the best moment.

"Certainly. But I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow, right?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Well, they won't explode if I don't do it right away." Ryder looked a bit suspicious at Jaal, raising an eyebrow at him. "Why do you ask?"

"I have heard your exchange with Lexi when I arrived," he started to explain. At this statement her eyes went wide. For a moment he appreciate the clear, dark blue coloring of them, before he noticed how they switched their focus to the exit.

This was easy for him to read. Ryder wanted to get past him, to hide somewhere where she could continue her work without getting disturbed by the doctor or him in this case. He had seen her run away from Lexi a lot of times, but he wouldn't even give her a chance to run.

He stood up from the crate and blocked the way to the exit, literally trapping her in his living corner and with a smug smile he crossed his arms. "And I agree to her. You should take a break and strengthen yourself. You probably would forget to sleep, when your body wouldn't force you to rest."

Ryder gave him a clear 'are you serious' look and huffed in annoyance. "Your concern is appreciated, but I promise you not needed. I live just fine from my five-minute naps and protein bars." 

While she had talked, she had fetched her _junk-bag_ , how she called it and put the toys and her tools into it. It was clear that she still wanted to escape him, so he carefully watched her and she did the same.

>>Actually, the concern is very appropriated Pathfinder,<< SAM suddenly interfered. >>You have followed this behavior for three days now. Continuing will lead to unconsciousness soon and other severe damages to your system in a few days. I highly advice you to follow Dr. T'Perro's and Mr. Ama Darav's instructions.<<

"Oh, not you too SAM," Ryder groaned in annoyance and glared at the ceiling. 

Jaal chuckled at that. "See? Reluctance is not a wise choice Ryder. Why do you make it so hard for you and us?"

"Ah, you know me Jaal. I like to rebel," she said and with a grin she focused back on him. And luckily he indeed know her well enough by now in that regard, otherwise SAM's statement would have worried him much more.   
  
From the point of an observer this scene probably would be funny, how Ryder took a step to the side and Jaal mimicked it to stand in her way. They repeated this a few times and Ryder's growing frustration over it amused him immense.

"You are so irresponsible and stubborn," Jaal said with a grin.

At that Ryder shot him a glare that was more adorable than threatening in this moment. But then she took a deep breath and her expression changed. Her eyes were half closed and looked directly into his, her lips were slightly parted and formed into a soft smile.

"Maybe you are right." Even her voice was much more gentle than usual and she tilted her head to the site when she took a step towards him. "Maybe I really should be a good girl and listen to you."

Jaal only blinked at her. This was...new. For one thing she gave up far too easily and for another...her strange behavior. It sent a chill down his spine, the way she looked at him. It was...alluring. A voice in his head, which sounded surprisingly a lot like Evfra, chided him for thinking like this, but Jaal was too distracted to care about it. 

But it was not distracting enough that he wouldn't notice how Ryder's body shifted slightly to the side. Suddenly her face turned into a determinate expression and not even a second later she dove for the work-bench to his right. Jaal cursed in Shelesh and turned around to get a hold of her. Ryder already had slid over the bench and was about to get her feet on the ground again, when he managed to wrap one arm around her waist and lifted her back on the bench, pressing her against his chest so she couldn't escape. During this maneuver her backpack felt to the ground. 

Ryder's initial demands of release turned into a laughing fit, when she realized there was no chance of escaping the strong angaran arms. "Dammit, I almost made it," she hiccuped between her laughter. Jaal could only shake his head and huffed amused.

"You are such a devious woman." He had loosen his grip on her, but still held her in place just in case. 

"Nahw, thanks for the compliment big guy," she said after she had leant her head against his shoulder and glanced up to him with a grin. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. Jaal was silent for a few moments to give her time, before he spoke again.

"I really don't understand it Ryder. What do you seek to accomplish with working yourself until unconsciousness? Don't you see that you only harm yourself and worry those around you?" His tone was gentle, but full of concern. 

It took her a while before Ryder gave him an answer. "I know it's stupid. But when I'm working, my mind isn't starting to think about...unpleasant stuff." The sigh she made was heavy and indicated just how tired she actually was. "That's all. Just trying to occupy myself."

Jaal hummed his understanding and pressed his nose against the crown of her head, besides her ponytail, in comfort. "A very bad habit you humans have. Ignoring the things that trouble you, instead of sharing and trying to deal with them."

"Yeah, we are pretty flawed when it comes to talk about the touchy-feely stuff," Ryder tried a weak attempt at a jest, but she didn't laugh about it herself. She must be really tired. 

"You know that you are always free to come to me and talk about your worries. We Angara are good in dealing with our emotions, maybe I can help you with yours."

Ryder chuckled faintly at his offer. "That's nice from you Jaal, really. But...I'm not really the type to find the words to explain what's going on in my weird head."

"Understood," he said and moved his head away from her's. Gently he laid his hand on her arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "The offer stands, should you change your mind."

After her only answer was a nod he wanted to step away from her, giving her the private space the humans valued so much and maybe trying to convince her to finally eat something. But he hadn't even moved his arm from her, when she grabbed his still uncovered hand with hers and inspected it.

"Sial! Your last three fingers are...fused?" 

"Is that...a bad thing?" Jaal asked in utter confusion about the question and tensed up slightly. He also wondered why she kept using words that wouldn't translate for him, ignoring the fact that he did the same from time to time.

"No, it's not," she replied. "Peebee and I just have a bet running what your hands look like under the gloves. I said you simply had three fingers in one column and she said it was one big finger. Seems none of us is right."

At that Jaal relaxed again and sighed amused. "You and Peebee come up with really odd bets. You could have simply asked."

"That would have taken the fun from it," Ryder snickered. She kept inspecting his hand, tracing his knuckles and spreading his fingers. He didn't mind her curiosity, for it was endearing to watch and he had been the same when she allowed him to touch her hair.

"Isn't it troublesome for you to tinker with only two single fingers per hand?" she asked after a few seconds.

"Isn't it difficult for you to keep control over all five fingers at once?" he retorted with a chuckle.

"Touché, my glorious, purple friend," she said and turned around to poke his flat nose with the hand that wasn't holding his. At his perplexed expression and wrinkling nose she let out a giggle and returned her attention to his hand.

Ryder turned it around and laid her own hand in his for comparison. Jaal marveled at how small and slender her hands seemed when settled on his own, yet he knew how skillet and strong they were.

The image of their hands like this warmed his heart in a way that was...not really new for him, but hadn't felt for a very long time. As did the fact that she was still so close, without him holding her in place and being absolutely comfortable with it. Maybe this was what Liam had meant with 'liking' Ryder, although it was a far too weak for what he felt. But was it real what he felt or did he misinterpreted his admiration for her?

It was hard to think about it, especially when Ryder started to stroke her finger over his palm. Jaal couldn't help but let out a content hum at that sensation, which seemed to spur her on and she stroked his palm and the inside of his wrist more sensual.

"Are you trying to distract me again Ryder?" He had lowered his head and practically purred with a deep tone into her ear. Her sharp intake of breath and shuddering made him smile smugly, but she managed to gather her wits very quickly.

"Maybe. A little bit." She tilted her head so that he could see her sly grin and also her deep blush. "Does it work?"

"Hmm, maybe a little bit," he answered again with a purr and pressed his lips against the base of her ponytail. Stars, but he must be becoming infatuated with her, because this felt so _right_. Having her so close like this, teasing each other playfully and knowing that she enjoyed this as much as he did, when he read her correctly, which he had become quite good with recently. 

But as wonderful as this moment was, there was still the matter of her health. More reluctantly than Jaal would have imaged, he stepped away from Ryder to walk around the bench and face. His eyes didn't leave her face also his hand remained with her, since he had clasped his fingers gently around hers.

"Nevertheless, it's not enough to make me forget what we have talked about before," he said in a serious tone. Until that moment Ryder had beamed at him, but now deflated in disappointment and looked to the ground. Even when he didn't like it to see her like this, he stayed firm.

"There is no need to speak to me about the things that trouble you, if you don't want. But working yourself into unconsciousness is not the right path and your are usually good at finding those," he tried to lighten up the mood with a little joke at the end, but Ryder only reacted with a half-smile. Jaal didn't let himself discouraged by this and tried it again.

"I only ask you to at least... _try_ and take more care of yourself. We all are thankful for the work you do and I very much appreciate the effort you put into these toys for my people's children. But you shouldn't neglect yourself over all this."

 The conflict was very visible on Ryder's face, but in the end she took a deep breath and nodded slightly. Jaal sighed relieved and smiled brightly when she raised her gaze again, which made her smile in return too.

"As if I would stand a chance against your sad-cat-look when I say no," she mumbled and rubbed the knuckles of her free hand against her cheek in a bashful manner. His smile became only wider.

"One of the few times I'm glad for your constant comparison from me and your feline pets." 

They snickered together, before Ryder started to fumble with her words. "I...I can't promise that I might fall back into the habits. But I will try to eat a bit more than just protein bars and change my 5 minutes naps to 6 hours slumber, how does this sound?"

"That is all I ask for," Jaal said, while tilting his head in acknowledgement and gently squeezing her hand. "If it is of any help for you, I can keep you company while you are in the galley. And you fall asleep in Tech lab most of the time anyway."

It was clear that Ryder appreciate his offer. Still she raised her eyebrow in acted incredulousness. "You only want to keep an eye on me. Making sure I do actually eat something."

He was very thankful the she explained the idiom right away and nodded at her accusation with a chuckle. "That may be one of my reasons."

"Oh, and what are the other reasons?" Ryder asked in a pretended coyly manner. 

"Hmm, mostly that I enjoy being in your presence," he answered as nonchalant as possible, but smiled pleased when he saw her flabbergasted face and red cheeks. Apparently she hadn't counted on him being that blunt with his answer.

Jaal laughed and gently tugged at hand, so that she got up from the bench. That seemed to get her out of the stupor and tried to shoot him a glare. Again this was more adorable than threatening due to her still flushed face. She also muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like 'charming idiot'. He tried his best not to look even more pleased.

"Come now, maybe we can catch Drack in the galley and ask him to cook something for you." he said and they started to leave the lab.

"Would be for the best. I'm really terrible at cooking, not that I have much patience for it in the first place," Ryder answered with a huff.

On their way to the galley they were so deep into a discussion about cooking, that they didn't realized that they were still holding hands. Only when Peebee passed by and started cooing at them they noticed this. Jaal didn't mind it at all, but he looked with a questioning look at Ryder. She only shrugged with one shoulder and continued with their topic, not caring about it either. His smile was subtle, but his eyes sparkled with joy.

**Author's Note:**

> bahlul = idiot  
> Sial = Damn  
> Not 100% sure that these malay translations are correct.
> 
> Kudos and comments would be very appreciated. <3


End file.
